The latest version of the Google app is rolling out this morning and it comes with another redesign of Assistant settings. Version 7.17 also reveals some sort of syncing feature with Chrome, upcoming Google Lens functionality, and more.

About APK Teardowns: In this ‘APK teardown,’ we’ve decompiled the latest version of an application that was uploaded to the Play Store. When an app (or an APK, to be specific, in the case of Android apps) is decompiled, we’re able to see various lines of code within that hint at possible future features. Keep in mind that Google may or may not ever ship these features, and our interpretation of what they are may be imperfect. With that in mind, read on.

Android P

Several weeks ago, Google’s apps began targeting API Level 27. With Android 8.1 scheduled to rollout next month to Pixel and Nexus devices, the company’s apps are already referencing the next major version of Android.

platformBuildVersionName=”P”

Assistant settings redesign

Google Assistant’s settings has again been redesigned. These visual changes are not too significant and mostly remove lines separating various menu, while also indenting other items to better highlight them. Meanwhile, settings in the Google app also adopt a light navigation bar.

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Shared Devices renamed to Voice Match

The biggest change in settings is renaming “Shared devices” to “Voice Match.” The latter name first surfaced at this year’s October 4th event to describe Assistant device’s ability to recognize a user’s voice. The page still lists devices that are using Voice Match, but adds the ability to retrain your voice and invite others to train theirs. The latter feature is achieved through a share prompt.

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Upcoming Google Lens features

Google’s visual search assistant began more widely rolling out yesterday with its initial set of functionality. As a preview, some features demoed back at I/O are still absent. Version 7.17 notes Google working on a translation functionality for signs and other print, as well as a “Remember this” feature.

Another feature in the works is the ability to import captured images to Google Keep. This is already possible with the useful Share menu, but it appears that this “suggestion” might be more directly integrated into Lens.

<string name=”eyes_import_to_keep_suggestion”>Import to Keep</string>

Chrome sync

A new icon and series of strings reveal that the Google app is working on some sort of sync feature with Chrome for viewing web pages.

<string name=”cct_account_mismatch_card_text”>To see the pages you find here, update &lt;b>%1$s settings&lt;/b> and turn on sync for &lt;b>%2$s&lt;/b></string>

Podcasts

Recent versions of the Google app note that the built-in podcast player is due for a revamp with features like offline downloading. The latest string notes that a file can’t be deleted while it’s playing, while also noting the presence of explicit tags.

<string name=”quartz_pairing_error_must_update”>Please check for the latest version of the app to continue.</string>

Filterbar for Search categories

Performing an Image search in the Google app allows users to filter results by color, type, and resolution. Meanwhile, on the mobile web, similar filters are available in other categories, including All and Videos. That “filterbar” might finally be expanding to all categories in the Google app (via AP), with options including those related to video, date/time, and length.